According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office “Patent
infringement is the act of making, using, selling, or
offering to sell a patented invention, or importing into the
United States a product covered by a claim of a patent
without the permission of the patent owner.”
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Patent infringements could have a negative impact on your
small business.
It is important to stop others from infringing on your
patent. If you
suspect that others have infringe on your trademark take the
following steps:
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Substantiate the violation:
Get a picture of every place where the violation is
displayed. For
example, screenshots of websites, marketing materials,
product displays, etc.
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Negotiate:
Attempt to negotiate with the violator.
Attempt to deal with them on a person-to-person
basis.
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Cease and Desist Letter:
If negotations don’t work out place the violator on
notice to stop using the name or logo by issuing a cease and
desist letter that is drafted by a Patent attorney.
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Sue or Not Sue:
If you consider goin to court consider that doing so
could be very expensive.
Additionally, if you don’t win you’re still incur the
court cost. If
you do win, the amount awarded to you may not be worth the
cost of bringing the case in the first place, and it could
be difficult to actually enforce the order to get the
defendant to pay up.
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Out Compete Them:
If no other approach work to stop someone from
violating your trademark, one option you can use is to out
compete them.
This will ultimately force them to close up shop.
Educate your consumer base about the infringement.
Demonstrate the superiority of your product versus
the knock off.
Let the consumer know that they’re getting a better product
if they buy yours, even though it may cost a little more.
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